Hape Wooden Toys

This season, I had the pleasure of checking out some of the new releases from Hape Toys, including a block set from their collaboration with The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Hape prides themselves on being a sustainability-focused company without compromising on durability or playability, and both sets that I reviewed measured up to that standard.

Whenever a toy company sends me samples of their fire truck toys, I always get excited. I was a volunteer firefighter earlier in my life, so seeing how different companies portray fire trucks always excites me, and I’m proud to have built up quite the collection. Hape’s Siren & Lights Toy Fire Truck is my first wooden fire truck, and I am a big fan. Made out of Hape’s signature bamboo wood, the truck itself is sturdy yet also rolls smoothly. The different moving parts also operate smoothly, including the extendable ladder and the retractable hose, which are excellent for developing fine motor skills while also strengthening the imaginative play muscle.

The fire truck also comes with a posable firefighter that can snap into the driver’s seat, climb into the bucket to operate the water gun, or take hold of the retractable hose to fight fires on foot. Like the name suggests, the truck is built with battery-operated lights and sirens to simulate real-life emergency sounds and flashing lights. A great addition to my fire truck collection, and one you should add to yours, especially if you’re opting for wood-based toys over plastic.

In addition to the Siren & Lights Toy Fire Truck, I also got a chance to play with the Hokusai Great Wave Building Block Set, which Hape released in collaboration with The Metropolitian Museum of Art. The 14-piece set is inspired by Under the Wave off Kanagawa, the iconic painting by Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai, also referred to as The Great Wave.

The blocks come in shades of blue and white, with tan pieces making up the boats and people that ride them. They can be artfully arranged to emulate The Great Wave, or can simply be used for abstract play. The pieces are curved with no sharp edges, making them a great toy for early childhood. Finding different ways to stack the pieces on top of one another to create different scenes can really strike that artistic chord in a young child, too. These blocks as well are made of Hape’s bamboo wood, making them both durable and environmentally friendly.

Hape was first established in Germany in 1986 by Peter Handstein. They’re a very sustainability-focused company—many of their toys are made out of bamboo and sugarcane-based plastic, and their packaging is made of recycled cardboard, organic inks, and water-based colors.